To Be or Not to Be

The business of being
is a very tough business.
There are winners and losers,
and some just close shop,
drop out,
say the hell with it,
and go off begging.
They frequently start new religions,
or give the established ones
a bad name,
but it’s their choice
and that is part of the business.

To be,
is really to make a statement.
To put on clothes with a certain flair,
to hold a correct opinion,
or none at all.
To rise with the sun
and declare the sun may rise.
It is, I said,
all style,
length of trouser,
color of socks,
to smile or not to smile,
to be seen for what you are,
or not be seen.

To show a profile,
that is what it is meant to be,
to exist,
to be truly existential.
However,
there are times, days, occasions,
when to be is simply tough to be.
That’s when I take stock,
pricing the cost of lodging,
the size of the view,
and then make a tally
of how much is left.

How much I should be keeping,
whether the time remaining
should be consumed
or left as a tip.
Did I give enough of myself
so no one complained,
or felt they lost in the bargain?